Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-25
COMMERCIAL DISBURSEMENT.

OF republican form of government. 1t
threatens by commercial assault possible
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the Union, in that it
erects at every State line a barrier against
that free and uninterrupted communiea-
ton and Interchange between the citizens of
the States that is essential to the knitting
together of interests which makes us one
people. And for this condition of things
the Democratic party, Democratic Con- |
gress, and Democratic President are re-
sponsible.
They have imported into our internal
economy distorted form of protection,
that practically puts custom-house at
every crossing of a railroad from one State |
into another. The protective policy has
heretofore related solely and only to COM
merce between foreign peoples and our
own. Against this the Democratic party |
has always preached, and often attempted
to legislate. There is in the articles of
votedly attached than the doctrine of free
trade.
In the teeth of the bitterest opposition
of the Democrats, the Wings in 1912 i'm
posed protective tariff and in 1916 the
opposition of the Democracy succeeded so
far as to level the tariff, and that the in
dustries of the country did not Immediately
languish was due only to the Mexican war.
the acquisition of California, the discovery
of gold and the immigration westward
but the low customs rates had their effect
presently cheap foreign goods flooded the
country over-production by our manu-
facturers resulted, and the collapse came
with the financial crash of 1857. The pro-
lection policy then took deeper root and
grew, but the Democratic party has never
ceased to contend for free trade, nor to in
weigh against high tariff, and for ten
years past it has, in and out of Congress,
clamored for reduction to the level of a
rate for revenue only, regardless of the
effect upon our mechanical and productive
industries. During the last Presidential
campaign it cultivated the free trade senti-
ment in the South, while beguiling the
protectionists of the North by ambiguous
words and vague phrases.
How now do we find this free trade party
feSislating? 1t no sooner gains the control
OF Government than it begins a coquetry
looking to renewed cultivation of the free
trade spirit, and the opening of our gates
to the cheap labor products of Europe,
while, with amazing inconsistency, the
result of Ignorance or willfulness, it injects
into our domestic economy the most radi-
cal and indefensible protective policy i'm
aginable, as if in very lust of power it had
gone mad, in reereancy to its own prin-
ciples.
\ Democratic Administration saddles
upon the county the interstate commerce
law, setting up prohibitory and ruinous
protection by tariff, not upon commerce,
but upon the means of transportation and
communication between the people of the
common country. 1t is to all intents and
purposes tariff upon the right-now re-
duced by Democratic stupidity to a mere
privilege-of citizens of different sections
to move between the States, and to ex-
change their products and the results of
their industry and especially is this a
grievous tariff upon those most remote
from points of production.
Underlying the whole scheme of our
government is the principle that no i'm
post, duty. or embargo shall be laid upon
the trade or commerce of the citizens of
the several States with each other. Yet
the Democratic party has done precisely
this thing, and by such action has given
the strongest invitation TO absolute and
unqualified State independence from the
union of States. Whoever calmly ex-
amines the question from the political
standpoint, cannot fail to see that this is
precisely the teaching and logical outcome
of the interstate commerce law, if con-
tinued down to its legitimate results.
II \ in Colorado sells his products to B
in Pennsylvania, in exchange for the re-
suit of the industry of B, it is their abso-
Lutte right. Introduction of the exchange
makes them as distinctly foreign in their
trade relations as if one of them resided
and did business in Persia In technical
sense the Democratic Administration has
not levied a tariff upon the goods of A,
but it has practically done so by putting
prohibitory charge upon the means of
efiecting the exchange, and that is trans
portation. In other words, the Demo-
cratic party has so legislated as to-
declare that to be so. which never
was, nor ever can be true = that
transportation is commerce and,
moreover, it has erected a statute
against its being done cheaply 1t has, in
brief, denied the right to the citizens of
different States to do business with each
other at small praGt.
1t has done this by declaring that the
great waterways-Gods free highways for
man, knowing no toll nor tariff, and pay
ing no interest on investment-which have
heretofore determined the minimum cost
of transportation, shall no longer do so.
This has been accomplished by statutory
inhibition to carry between points touched
biz waterways, except the carrier trans
ports for non-competitive places at the
minimum rate created bv competition be-
tween rail and waterway Tor competitive
points
Let us take one instance to illustrate
this point, for the subject Of necessity